Chương 2: There’s Only One of You Made for Me

About a month ago, I jumped from the Border to escape the vampires sent to track me. By extreme luck, I survived and ended up waking up on the opposite side of the Infinite River in Wolf Territory.

I was dragged out from the icy waters and given a home by a younger boy with the most energetic personality.

Everyone calls him Ralphie, Ralphie Grayson.

Behind his colossal height and handsome face, there's more than meets the eye.

He's actually a werewolf—a big, handsome gray wolf with the finest and sharpest smile I have ever seen in my twenty-three years of living.

To be fair, he is also the first werewolf I've ever seen in my life.

And he insists that I'm his "mate."

That's impossible.

But I'll explain to him why later on. For now, I just want to make sure he recovers quickly. Howsoever I enlisted someone—a beautiful wolf named Diane— to assist a lost human to weave through the bustling streets and vendors to locate a few grocery items, I have yet to understand.

But nonetheless, extremely grateful that she would accompany and teach me their ways, despite me being an outsider.

Growing up my entire life surrounded by vampires, we humans are generally the bottom of the food chain and lowest tier in their hierarchal system.

Parallel to that flawed system, wolves and humans share a mutual bond of dependency and appreciation and live as equals here.

I can see why the vampires forbid the humans from going anywhere near the Border. If any of them are to find out how life is on this side of the river, they'd be losing their blood bank overnight.

"Diane!" a voice growls from behind, interrupting my train of thoughts.

Both she and I turn around to see an angry giant stomping towards us. I honestly didn't think the friendly Ralphie was capable of such a face.

Diane takes a step forward, not cowering from the male wolf in front of her. Her clear blue eyes stare confidently back at his intense golden gaze.

"What do you want?" she snarls, obviously offended by his sudden outburst.

"Leave Alvena alone," he bites through his fangs.

Throwing down our bags, Diane bears her own fangs, threatening to shift right in the middle of town.

"Ralphie," my meek voice interrupts as I put a hand on him. He immediately calms a little and turns his attention to me. "Why are you here?" I ask. He doesn't look any better than yesterday. In fact, maybe worse with the swelling and bruising.

"You weren't at home."

"Alvena's not a prisoner," Diane states as a matter of fact, much to Ralphie's obvious irritation. "She isn't from here, but she still has the right to walk amongst us."

I'm sure Ralphie understands that more than anyone else. However, his concern isn't uncalled for, considering the last incident that happened between us two.

Before I came into the picture, everyone assumed Diane and Ralphie were mates.

They perfectly complement each other from their superior looks and interests to dominant skills and personality. But the situation deviated with me showing up unexpectedly by the river.

Naturally, when Ralphie proclaimed me as his mate, Diane instantly shifted into a white wolf and pranced on me to fight it out—fair and square (here, human and werewolf are equal so a fight is the conventional solution to logically unsolvable issues).

But in the land of vampires, we humans wait to be attacked. We know nothing of defending ourselves. It hasn't even crossed our minds as an option. Therefore, I stood still as a rock and prepared to be crushed.

Luckily, Ralphie swept me out of harm's way before Diane's sharp teeth tore off any of my limbs.

That was the first and only time Diane and I were seen together until today.

"I wanted to get something for you," I explain. "Diane is helping me."

Ralphie glances at his pack mate and finally softens up when he spots the food-filled bags.

"Diane, you didn't have to..."

His former mate rolls her eyes.

"Since you're here, you can carry your own stuff," she says as she pushes the bags at him. "Go hide yourself at home. You look like a loser."

Ralphie fakes a growl, but breaks into a satisfied grin after his good friend leaves to join the crowd of busy pack members in the distance.

"She's a sweet girl," I comment.

"Yeah," Ralphie agrees, eyes sparkling as if the one I complimented was him.

"You like her," I tease.

"I do."

A tiny smile appears on my face just imagining the two together.

Ralphie is tall with broad shoulders and a sturdy body. His looks aren't on the bad side either—angular face, tall nose, prominent jawline, and sun-colored eyes. It's not uncommon to see other females staring when he's not looking, especially when he walks out half-naked most of the time.

Diane matches him perfectly with her beautiful head of blonde hair and crystal blue eyes. Moon goddess— the others call her—because of her stunning beauty and unparalleled hunting skills.

They look just as great together in wolf form, if not better.

"You two are perfect for each other," I say, genuinely believing the match was made in heaven. "You two should spend more time-"

I don't get to finish before he draws me in a tight squeeze.

"But I want you," he breathes down my neck, sending a tingling sensation throughout my entire body.

It's these moments that shake me down to my core.

Would you still want me if you knew who I really am?

...….

"The townspeople were talking about us," I say as I peek out from my little cocoon-like fur wrappings. Ralphie doesn't let me explore beyond the tent unless I am completely cold-proof.

"Of course they were," Ralphie says, stretching his arms behind his head. "Why wouldn't they? You're the prettiest girl around."

"Very funny."

In all irony, while I am a walking fur ball, Ralphie is literally half-naked—wearing a pair of loose short-like pants that you'd never find anyone wearing back in my homeland. If anyone dressed like this back at home, they'd be considered vulgar and impoverished. However, from general observation, it's very normal here, especially for the wolves who are hot year-round.

Ralphie suddenly stops and holds me in place, resting his chin on my head.

"Look," he directs, pointing at a family coming out of a neighboring tent.

The mother was a human woman wrapped similarly to me, but in a more fashionable sense. She was holding hands with her baby son. He looked like any normal child from afar, but if you get just a little closer, you can see a pair of furry ears perk from his tiny head. Trotting gracefully next to them was the slender white-furred daughter in her wolf form. And following behind was the husband—a huge black wolf, four times the size of his human wife.

"That'll be us in the future," Ralphie states optimistically. As if teasing me, he adds, "But hopefully our family would be bigger."

"Ralphie, I-"

Before I could say anything, he excitedly spins me around to look at yet another interesting sight.

A brownish red wolf standing on his hind legs enter my line of vision. He is clearly in wolf form, but he looks somewhat human as well. I can't tell which one he is more of—man or beast.

"It's rude to stare," I mumble to myself, trying to look away from the strangely intriguing spectacle.

"More like gape," Ralphie commented a bit too loudly, catching the attention of the subject.

The wolf man and the one next to me exchange nods and I pull out a curtsy. Though my best effort probably amounted to a bending clump of fur, the gentleman didn't laugh and instead, sends me the same nod of acknowledgement.

"That's Rowan, the other pack's alpha," Ralphie says as the wolf man turns to go about on his own musings.

Since coming here, I learned that anyone with wolf blood coursing through their veins can adapt into several variant forms.

When a wolf is born, they can look completely human or completely wolf. As they grow older, they can interchange. But the special ones (like the baby son from earlier) can look both human and wolf—with human features but wolf ears, fangs, and occasionally the tail.

But...Rowan doesn't exactly fit the description of these categories.

"Is Rowan...a different breed?" I question, unsure if I was being rude.

Ralphie simply laughs, making me feel slightly stupid for asking something I wouldn't ever dream of knowing.

"What you just saw is our 'Lycan' form," he explains. "There's only a handful of us who can shift like that. Particularly, only the strongest of the pack."

"Wow," I admire aloud, taking last glances at the brown Lycan heading towards the more populated area where we just came from.

"Don't stare too much at other men. You already got me," Ralphie says as he tugs my hand gently in the direction of home.

I roll my eyes at the shirtless adolescent next to me. "You? I'm five years your senior."

"Four and a little more than half," he corrects. "But even if you're decades older, I'd still love you."

"How can you be sure?" I ask doubtfully.

"Because you're my mate."

"I can't confirm that. I'm not a wolf," I half joke.

Before I have time to try another one-liner, Ralphie delivers us back behind the privacy of his quarters and drops me atop his bed.

"Listen carefully," he orders. "If you never appeared in front of me, I wouldn't have tried to find you on my own. But since you did," he pauses and curves his lips upward. "I think it wise you know I'm not subtle with my feelings."

Hovering over me, we look intently at each other, his golden hazel eyes sparkling like yellow citrine.

"There's only one of you made for me..." he says and brings himself a little lower, pressing his completely healed body against mine.

I avoid his gaze, embarrassed to be so intimate, but he gently lifts me so that I'm still facing him.

"And there won't ever be another," he finishes with a low growl.

And again, the suffocating heavy feeling weighing in my heart, just became a little heavier.